Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

- GRAHAM REID

When British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden play Auckland's Spark Arena on September 16, its two founding members - bassist Steve Harris and guitarist Dave Murray - will be 68 and 67 respectively.

Singer Bruce Dickinson will be 66, which means he's been screaming "your soul's gonna burn in the lake of fire" from Can I Play With Madness for more than three decades.

And on their way in November are the punk-era Buzzcocks (one original member, 69-year-old Steve Diggle) with other greybeards from that era, Modern English.

Even those mouthy Mancunians, Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis, are getting up there: Noel will be 58 when - and perhaps if - the re-formed band start touring next year; younger brother Liam will be only 52, but he's already passed through that rite of passage for the elderly: the hip operation.

Advanced in years they may be, but these musicians are among many touring artists who defy the attritions of age. And they're still younger than many.

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock - who arrives in New Zealand next month - will be 84, three years older than Joe Biden.

In May, Bob Dylan turned 83. Perhaps he got a call from 91-year-old well-wisher Willie Nelson reminding him of their upcoming tour together. Paul McCartney - 82 in June - might also have sent best wishes. He's heading out again after a successful 2023 Got Back tour.

Robert Plant just had a day off mid-tour in America for his 76th birthday but was back out the next morning with Alison Krauss and joining Dylan, Nelson and 72-year-old John Mellencamp on the Outlaw Festival Tour.

Also on that endless highway through the US and Europe are John Fogerty, 79, Bonnie Raitt, 74, Lucinda Williams, 71, who's coming back after a stroke in 2020, and Bruce Springsteen (74, out with the band until November).